A STARVING horse left tethered to a chain in baking heat had to have the soles of its feet removed to give it any chance of survival, a court heard yesterday.

The seven-year-old mare, owned by Steven Wilkinson, was shockingly emaciated, riddled with worms and was so thirsty when rescued that it drunk 33 gallons of water in one day.

Derwentside magistrates were told that Wilkinson and his parents, who lived together in Peartree Terrace, Chopwell, near Gateshead, had kept horses on land near Ebchester for years.

The one-day trial heard that Wilkinson, 21, had let the condition of the animal deteriorate after it contracted laminitis - a potentially-fatal disease caused by gorging on too much feed.

He followed the instructions of a vet to restrict the animal's feed to help treat the condition, but when a member of the British Horse Society (BHS) arrived on the scene, she was shocked by what she saw.

Pamela Broom told the court: "I have never seen a horse as poor as that. She really was just skin on bones and she was covered in cuts and open sores.

"When we took her in, she drank 11 buckets - that's 33 gallons - of water in 24 hours.

"Normally, a horse drinks two or three a day. We also noticed that her droppings were almost alive with worms.

"But her feet were the worst. On all four feet, the soles had separated from the wall of the hoof. A blacksmith had to make leather pads and round horseshoes to take its weight."

Wilkinson denied causing unnecessary suffering between July 17 and 30 last year, but was convicted by magistrates, who ordered ownership to be transferred to the BHS.

David Mallone, defending, said his client followed his vet's instructions because he put his trust in a professional.

Wilkinson was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £150 court costs.